Colin Fletcher wrote an article about a two week trip he made where he got dropped off by plane at a remote Alaskan lake. The pilot was worried he didn't have a gun for the bears, so he left him a large revolver. Though Fletcher was in the military in his youth, he was mildly uncomfortable with the idea of having a gun in the wilderness.

Anyway, he did end up using it - as a drumstick on his cooking pot. Apparently that sound scared the bezeesus out of the griz and it took off running. Mission accomplished.

"2,500,000 people die in the US each year1 dies from bear attack1 in ten deaths is caused by inactivity http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/lazy-kill-physical-inactivity-responsible-5-millions-deaths-year-article-1.1116883"

"1 in ten deaths is caused by inactivity http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/lazy-kill-physical-inactivity-responsible-5-millions-deaths-year-article-1.1116883"

How many of these people hike in remote, bear infested areas?

Not many. That's the point. Of the ~250,000 a year who die of inactivity in this country, you can bet that most of them don't spend much time hiking in remote country, and a lot of them don't do so because they're afraid of bears.

People are really bad at risk analysis.

And by the way, the guy in the story wasn't on a hiking trip and he wasn't in a remote area. He was a salmon fisherman in a popular area. Millions of Americans spend time in grizzly country each year. And even in remote grizzly country, grizzlies are way down on the list of things most likely to kill a person.

It's not just a rhetorical game. I think it's important for people to be aware of potential bear danger, but to distinguish between the perceived level of risk, which is often very high, and the actual level of risk, which is usually very, very low (with the exception of the Treadwell types.)

Guy on reddit talks about his Grizzy bear attack where he was blinded...
on 05/10/2013 16:17:36 MDT

Nobody has ever lived to tell the story of what happened when a bear found the cord from a PCT hang.

Nobody. Bob Gross has raised the concern, repeatedly, but until someone survives such an encounter to tell the story, we can only speculate on the horrors the hikers have faced.

Until we better understand these animals, the only solution is is carry an AR10 for protection, supplemented with a large handgun for protection, backed up by spray and track shoes for when the protection fails. I recommend spraying the least popular group member and then putting the track shoes to use.

Guy on reddit talks about his Grizzy bear attack where he was blinded...
on 05/10/2013 20:28:49 MDT

I will not. At least not immediately.

Go edit your misplaced concerns and fears to specify you we're talking about a specific type of bear in Your posts. It was not clear at all that your nonse^H^H^H^H^H^H advice was limited to non-grizzly bears.

Thanks for your cooperation in avoiding these types of misunderstandings, --G.B.--

===A grizzly bear that emerged from a thicket and charged two backpackers in the backcountry of Denali National Park and Preserve was shot and killed by one of the two who was carrying a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol, according to park officials.

...

"The man, who was in the lead, drew a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol when they heard a noise coming from the brush. When the bear emerged from the thicket and ran toward the other hiker, he fired approximately nine rounds in its general direction. The bear stopped, turned, and walked back into the brush, where it quickly disappeared from view," said the release.===

A 30-year-old man is recovering in hospital after he was mauled by a bear on Saturday outside his home in northern Ontario.Joe Azougar, who had just moved to Cochrane, Ont., a small town northeast of Timmins, said the bear approached without warning."Out of nowhere, this bear came just charging," Azougar told CTV Northern Ontario. "(My) German shepherd jumped on him and they started wrestling so I go back in my house and start making a few phone calls and making noises and things like that so he would disappear."

But despite Azougar’s efforts, the bear did not leave and ended up chasing him about 40 metres to a nearby road. Azougar said the bear dragged him by the head into the bushes.